Is MATC's public television license in jeopardy?

A new wrinkle has developed in a hotly contested attempt by Republican legislators to overhaul the Milwaukee Area Technical College board, a move expected to come to a vote before the Assembly adjourns its regular session.

MATC holds the Federal Communications Commission license for public television Channels 10 and 36, and the MATC District Board is MATC's governing body. At issue is whether replacing all nine members of the board at the same time would constitute a transfer of control. Federal statute requires FCC approval for a transfer of control.

MATC's legal counsel contends that replacing all nine board members at the same time is a transfer of control. A Legislative Council staff attorney disagrees, arguing the board would continue to exist and control MATC to the same extend that it does now, even with nine new members.

The Journal Sentinel contacted an independent attorney in Washington, D.C., whose practice focuses on regulatory and business issues facing companies in the broadcast industry.

She agreed with MATC's legal opinion.

"The names of the Board members are filed with the FCC—when the initial license is obtained and every other year as part of an ownership report that must be filed with the FCC," said Sally A. Buckman of Lerman Senter PLLC in Washington. "For a licensee that is governed by a Board, when less than a majority of the Board members change there is no transfer of control; however a wholesale change, there is a transfer of control."

MATC consulted with its FCC legal counsel in Washington D.C., who "opined that the removal and replacement of all nine current MATC Board members at one time would constitute a transfer of control of the institution; thus, requiring prior FCC approval of the new board members before they could assume their positions," said Janice Falkenberg, vice president and general counsel for MATC.

"The FCC approval process could take several months depending upon whether any objections were filed," Falkenberg told the Journal Sentinel.

An initial review by the Legislative Council drew a different conclusion about whether the bill would put MATC in jeopardy of losing its television license.

"Based on a cursory review of the federal statute, it appears that enactment of (the bill) would not constitute a violation and therefore would not put MATC in jeopardy of losing its television station license," said a memo from the Legislative Council released late Thursday afternoon.

"(The bill), if enacted, would result in removal and replacement of the individuals currently serving on the MATC Board. However, the MATC Board would continue to exist and would continue to control MATC to the same extent that is does currently. The change effected by (the bill) appears to be analogous to changing the membership of a corporate Board of Directors, which is a routine practice and does not appear to require FCC approval."

The memo said the Legislative Council's analysis "is based on only a brief review of the federal statute. We have contacted the FCC to discuss this issue and are waiting for a call back."

About Karen Herzog

Karen Herzog covers higher education. She also has covered public health and was part of a national award-winning team that took on Milwaukee's infant mortality crisis.